More Than Just DNA
by Luna Rosanna
Summary: Tony, Kate, and Abby are three children of L. J. Gibbs. Ducky is taking care of his grandson Jimmy. What happens when Jenny Shepard moves back to D.C. with her two kids Ziva and Tim to work as an NCIS agent?
1. New year new people

A/N: Hi guys! This is my first take on an NCIS team as actual family fanfic.  
The ages of the kids in this story are:  
Tony (17) Kate (15) Abby (13), Jimmy (14), Ziva (16), Tim (14).  
I'll write the next chapters as soon as my studies are going to let me. Enjoy!

**.**

.

It started out as a hectic morning at house Gibbs. Kids were getting ready for their first day of a new school year. Their father, Jethro Gibbs was sipping his third cup of black coffee that morning while reading the newspaper he brought in earlier that morning and listened to muffled yelling of his three kids upstairs.

He was a single dad for twelve years and even though it desired a lot of patience, energy, and coffee, he managed to keep up with his work as an agent and raise three teenagers at the same time.

Usually, he left their home for work way before they did, leaving a pot of hot tea and breakfast on the table. But it was the first day of school and he wanted to be there for his kids. It was Abby's last year at middle school and Tony's at high school, so it was that more important for him to wait and drive them to school himself.

"Kate! Stop! You're using my makeup!" protested Abby standing in a hallway in front of the bathroom.

"Abby you're too young to even use makeup! You know dad prohibited you from wearing it," said Kate, applying the second layer of mascara in front of the mirror.

"Dad won't notice. He's long gone," replied Abby while trying to grab the mascara from Kate's hand.

"I'm right here Abbs," he shouted her name after hearing her response to Kate.

Abby froze for a second until she heard her older brother running from the room.

"Dad's home?" he mouthed towards his younger sisters.

"Well, looks like it," Abby shrugged her shoulders, "Unless he installed a motion device that plays his voice every time we move!"

"That doesn't even make sense," said Kate rolling her eyes, making her way through her siblings still standing in front of the bathroom.

It took a while before they finally got ready. The three kids made their way down to the kitchen one by one. First, it was Kate, dressed in a matching olive green blazer and pants, her shoulder-length dark brown hair in a half updo. Greeting her dad with a quick hello, she poured a cup of tea before she stationed herself on a chair in front of him.

Then, there was Abby. Bouncing down the stairs in a black floral dress, her hair up to two ponytails, she kissed her father's cheek and sat down next to her sister.

"Oh look at my beautiful family sitting at the table in the morning peacefully," called Tony towards the three people he was closest to in the world. He was wearing blue jeans and a grey sweatshirt.

"Yeah, until you ruin it with your loud voice," said Abby teasingly. It was too early for Tony's comments. She might love her older brother, like a lot, but she hated how full of energy he always was in the morning.

"Oh come on baby girl, don't ruin this moment for me please?" replied Tony to his youngest sister.

"Why do you care anyway?" she said, setting her tea down on the table.

"Well, I am leaving high school as you know, I will be moving to university and I won't me home as much so I want to get as much family spirit this year as I can," he smiled, showing his perfectly white teeth that he used as a girl bait.

"Oh since when did you become so sensitive and family oriented?" asked Kate.

"Kate, he's right. We're getting busier and busier and I don't like how little time we spend together. So I thought of creating a family night, let's say, every Friday night. Just the four of us, talking. We can watch a movie or order pizza," recommended their father, leaving his three in a shock. Their father was a trained marine turned NCIS agent and he definitely wasn't one for the sensitive mushy stuff.

"Why, dad? Did we do something wrong?" asked confused Abby.

"And why exactly Friday night? That's like the best night to go out!" claimed Tony.

"No. I just don't want to miss more of my kids than I already have. And now, pack your things and get in the car, I will drive you to the school today. First, you two and then Abby," he added, standing up and putting a coffee mug into a sink.

"This is so unfair! I'm the only one left at middle school! Even Jimmy is already freshmen," complained Abby, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Come on Abby, you have all your friends at your school," smiled Kate at her sister.

"Well yes, but I feel like a total baby!" Abby replied, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration.

"Well that's because you are," giggled Tony from behind her back, playing with her ponytails. Abby turned around and smacked him across his chest.

"Stop smacking each other and move your butts to the car, otherwise, I am going to start giving out a few slaps myself," said their father, halfway to the car.

They didn't hesitate and run to grab their school bags.

The car ride was rather silent. They had their mind buzzing with thoughts, ideas, what the new school year is going to be like.

Tony was excited about his basketball friends and meeting new girls. He was glad he was leaving for university, but looking over his shoulder at his younger sisters, he knew they needed him. Just like he needed them.

Kate, she was different than her brother. Much more reserved, enjoyed the presence of a good book more than the one of attention from people. She liked it that way. She loved her friends and her family, but she also loved her alone time and during the summer holidays, she didn't get any.

Abby was going through difficult times. She was 13, going through many changes, problems and dramas any teenage girl goes through. The only difference was, she didn't have a mom to go through it with her. Sure she did have her dad and Kate, but it wasn't the same. Dad was too busy and a _man _and Kate was too… her older sister.

It took them around 20 minutes till their dad was pulling up by the high school Kate and Tony attended. He parked the car and looked over at his kids. What catches his eye instead was a red-haired woman stepping out of a car parked right next to them.

"… and I should be back home by five. Dad, are you even listening to me?" asked frustrated Kate.

"What are you even looking at? A ghost?" asked further Abby and they all looked in the direction their dad was staring at.

Right next to their car was standing a redhead, dressed in a tailored suit with her hair up in a bun. From her car stepped out a girl, around Tony's age, with dark curly hair and olive skin, followed by a younger boy who definitely looked more like than women standing by the car.

"Wow, who's this _chick_?" asked Tony, pointing to the girl.

"Tony, watch your tongue," warned him, Gibbs, "and go, you two. You'll be late."

As he started driving away towards NCIS, he still wasn't sure what he saw.

His mind was suddenly as busy as his kids'. That woman sure looked a lot like his old colleague. But what is she doing in a high school in Washington D.C., Alexandria? That didn't make any sense. She was transferred to Paris just a year before his wife died. And as he heard, dropped working for the agency years after. He found himself so caught in the memories that…

"Dad? Isn't my school in the opposite direction?" asked Abby from the back seat.

_TO BE CONTINUED_


	2. How long has it been?

_A/N: Hey everybody! So sorry it took me so long to write this short chapter, I'm trying to get a degree and it is keeping me extra busy this month. Next chapter, the kids are finally going to meet! Please bear with me. Hope you enjoy!  
. _

_._

_._

Former marine gunnery sergeant and present-day NCIS agent stormed his way through the NCIS entrance, heading straight for the director Morrow's office. As he stepped off of the elevator, he glanced casually over the bullpen, the figure of a woman he once called a partner made him regress a few steps.

She turned around and there she was, in all her glory. Jennifer Sheppard, a legend between agents in disguise, her undercover work made her famous amongst all NCIS offices. She aged a bit, to be fair, but it made her that more attractive. She had her hair short, still firing with the shades of red that he appreciated so much.

"Hello, Jethro," were the first two words that she addressed to him after all those years.

"What are you doing here, Jen?" he asked casually. He needed to focus on his job, catching the bad guys, all that stuff. They served their years together undercover in Europe, but that was a long time ago, long before Tony, Kate, and Abby were born. Long before he got married.

"Upon my request, I got transferred back to D.C.," she replied, looking him up and down. He looked… older. And definitely more... tired. She noticed the famous cup of black coffee in his hand. She wondered which cup of the day it was. Her bet was on number three. But the same spark from his icing blue eyes was still there. She heard he got married. Maybe his marriage was wearing him down.

"And where exactly will you be working?" he asked, even though he knew exactly what her answer is going to be.

"I was transferred here, to Frank's team, meaning we will be working together again, hope you don't mind," she smiled at him.

"Nah Jen, the office is always busy, we could all use a little help. It might even score us a few hours of home time," he was glad there was somebody to help them with the work. He wasn't sure how exactly it is going to work out with their history, but all he cared about at that moment was getting more quality time with his kids.

"I bet your wife is going to appreciate you being home more," she stated as he turned around to leave to the Director's, what was his original plan.

"My wife's been dead for twelve years Jen, but my three stubborn teenage kids are in a serious need of some family bonding," he left her in a shock. She had no idea his wife passed away. And she couldn't imagine him raising three kids on his own.

"I'm sorry Jethro, I had no idea, I feel like an idiot, I shouldn't have…" she started mumbling and apologizing.

"Jen, it's okay," he answered, looking into her eyes. It's been a long time, but he'd recognize that look anytime, "I have a question though. What were you doing this morning at my kids' high school?"

"Well, you're not the only single parent in this office," he looked at her, trying to hide his surprise.

"I had Tim 14 years ago. Father didn't want to partake in our life afterward," she continued and he noticed it wasn't exactly easy to talk about, "and I adopted Ziva after her family was killed in a suicide bombing. She has been living with us since she was a baby. And what age are your kids?" she asked quickly.

"Tony is our firstborn, he's seventeen, then Kate will be sixteen in a few months and baby Abby is thirteen."

She still couldn't believe it. It's been long enough that both of them became parents, single parents to almost adult kids. The last time she saw him was a while before she started her life in Paris. But her kids needed a proper home, so she asked to come back to the States.

He has already halfway up the stairs when an idea struck in his mind.

"Hey Jen, what about you take your kids and bring them over for dinner. I will also call Ducky and his grandson Jimmy," he looked down at her leaning by the stair's railing.

"Sounds nice," she smiled, "It will be good for Ziva and Tim to know someone their age."

He then went up to the office, leaving her wondering, _'Ducky has a grandchild? Am I really getting that old?'_


	3. Good dinner, good times?

"Guys? Anyone home?" the voice of the youngest Gibbs sibling traveled throughout their house. She closed the front door behind her, without hearing any response.

She headed upstairs automatically and popped her head into her brother's bedroom. Every inch of his bed was covered with a piece of dirty laundry and there was no sign of him. _'Dad's gonna freak out,'_ she thought to herself.

"Kate? Tony? Are you home?" she called for her siblings, this time being interrupted by a crashing noise coming from their dad's bedroom.

"Dad?" at this point, she had goosebumps on her skin.

"It's me, Abbs, relax," the familiar voice of her older brother made her relax a bit.

"Tony, what are you doing? Do you want dad to send you to a military academy that he has been threatening you with more frequently than before? Have you seen your room?" she asked as she entered the room and found him going through their dad's work papers.

"There's something fishy going on," he said, his look still glued to the papers in front of him.

"What do you mean, fishy? The only fishy thing in this house is your dirty underwear."

He looked at her, rolling his eyes: "That's right. You're too young to understand this stuff. Why don't you go play with barbies or whatever," he commended, making her temper rise in a split of a second.

"I am _thirteen_ Anthony, I don't play with barbies anymore. Besides, I am very mature for my age. So spill it. What is going on?" she moved and stepped beside her brother.

"Have you seen that woman that was by our car when dad was dropping me and Kate off?" he asked Abby and she nodded.

"Yep, dad was pretty weird the whole ride after seeing her. He almost forgot to drop me off."

"Well, I want to know who she is, how do they know each other if they know each other, what is she doing here and how can we get rid of her immediately," he told his younger sister.

"She seemed cool to me. And I would really love to see how we would get rid of her anyway. Would you blow her up as Harry Potter did to his uncle's sister? That would be fun," she giggled a bit. Her brother was very protective at times when it came to dad's possible love interests, but sometimes he was being more irrational than protective.

"This isn't funny. Dad was staring at her as if she was a ghost of Past Christmas from A Christmas Carol. And I want to know why."

"Why do you have to be so nosy Tony? Maybe she just reminded him of someone. Like, mom."

Her answer made his gasp for air. Nobody should remind them of their mother. She was one of a kind, hell, only of a kind. He shot a hurt look towards his sister and without any other word, took a bunch of papers and stormed out of the room.

"Where is Kate anyway?" she shouted after him, never getting an answer.

.

.

**_A few hours later_**

Gibbs parked his car in front of the garage, unloading the groceries from the back seat. Opening the door, he found two pairs of shoes scattered in front of the door. _'How many times do I have to tell them to put the shoes away?'_ he shook his head, not surprised that Kate's pair was laying neatly where it was supposed to be.

The house smelled of pumpkin and cloves. More than anything, it smelled like warmth, love, and home. Putting the groceries in the kitchen, he found Kate by the stove.

"Hi daddy, miss Wretsky brought over a few pumpkins and Abby asked me to bake a pumpkin pie," she told her dad who went and kissed the top of her head.

"Good, we will have visitors tonight, so you can serve your famous pumpkin pie," he smiled, looking around the house for the rest of the people who should be occupying the house by this time.

"They're upstairs. Tony's on the phone and Abby's reading something," she said, her focus buried deeply into pages of a book she's been reading while waiting for the pie to be done.

He loved his kids more than anything in this world, but to this day he couldn't grasp the fact how they could be so different. And Kate was definitely the only one who even so slightly reminded people of him with her calmness and practicality.

He found him exactly how Kate described. Tony, sprawled on a messy bed, chatting profoundly with someone on the phone. When he saw him, he automatically hung up, rolled out of the bed and waved at his dad.

"Hi dad, anything wrong? How was work?" he started babbling, trying to hide as much laundry underneath him as possible.

"Clean that up son," he motioned towards the bed, "we will have a few visitors tonight and I don't want them to think animals live in this house instead of people."

As soon as he finished the sentence, he heard his youngest race from her and Kate's bedroom towards him, hugging him from behind.

"Hi, daddy! Who's coming over? Is it Jimmy? Please tell me it is Jimmy!" she started jumping up and down behind him.

"Abbs, first of all, calm down," he turned around, trying to make her stop jumping.

"Yeah, dad, who's coming over? Is it the lady from school today?" Tony asked, almost a little bit irritated.

"Is it her? Or is it Jimmy? Or someone completely else we haven't seen? Just tell me it's not that lady that came and asked us all kinds of questions…" continued Abby.

"Yeah dad, not the psychologist again please," Tony pleaded.

_"Why do they have to be so nosy?" he thought to himself._

"You both rather change into nice clothes while I prepare dinner with Kate. And clean your rooms!" he ordered, before heading up downstairs.

"But you still haven't said who it is!" cried Abby.

"And I won't tell you until your rooms are sparkling clean and you are changed and ready downstairs!"

"I bet it's the lady," frowned Tony.

"I think it's just uncle Ducky with Jim and you're making too much deal out of it," said Abby, making Tony roll his eyes and leave to his room.

**.**

**.**

**_Later that evening_**

The house smelled like the most tasteful mix of all fall foods- pumpkin, roasted beef, and mashed potatoes, mixed in with all kinds of spices. The living room was decorated with candles, pumpkins and new checkered cushions Abby made with Kate. They loved fall and winter in their family. It was a tradition, every September they decorated the house for fall and late November, they switched to Christmas one.

The doorbell ranged and Kate and Jethro were finishing up with the food. Abby was setting up the table, dressed in a pretty mustard yellow dress and polka-dotted stockings, and Tony raced downstairs to open the door.

"No running in the house Anthony!" shouted his dad from the kitchen.

Tony opened the door, with the brightest smile, expecting to see the woman he was a hundred percent sure was the answer to his and Abby's questions about who's visiting.

Instead, he found himself looking at two very familiar faced of his surrogate uncle Ducky and step-cousin Jimmy.

"Hi guys, come inside!" he motioned for them to step inside.

"Anthony my dear, it smells wonderful in here," said Ducky as he was hanging up his coat.

"Well, all made by the wonderful hands of Katie and…" he was interrupted before he could finish.

"Ducky! Jimmy! It's you guys! Come to the kitchen, everything is ready," said Abby, hugging them both one by one.

"You sound like you weren't expecting us, Abigail," smiled Ducky.

"I told you it was going to be Jimmy and Ducky," whispered Abby to Tony.

"Well, we'll see," he said, making Abby just shake her head.

Just as they all got seated and Kate got up to change her clothes, the doorbell rang for the second time.

"Are we expecting anyone else?" asked Abby, without getting an answer again, Gibbs went to open the door, smiling.

"Hi Jen," he said to his new-old colleague, "Welcome to the Gibbs household," he motioned them inside.

They stepped inside, everyone else already moved into the living room.

As they did, Tony nudged Abby: "Told ya, sis."

"Kids, this is Jennifer Shepard, my new colleague and these are her kids, Ziva and Tim. And these are my kids, Tony, Kate, and Abby. Ducky works with us and that's his grandson Jim," he showed them one by one.

"I think it's going to be best if we all move to the kitchen and eat. We can get to know each other better," smiled Kate.

"I don't want to get to know them," whispered Tony, a little too loud.

"I don't want to get to know you either, but we will probably have to," said Ziva, forcing a fake smile.

The mood shifted from relatively okay to awkward and tense in a second. Abby nervously stepped from one foot to other, Tim was biting his nails.

"Okay, why don't we move to the kitchen then?" smiled Jenny and looked at Jethro.

"That's a wonderful idea," he said.

As they all moved to the table, he stopped Jenny by grabbing her arm.

"I'm sorry for Tony, I don't know what got into him. He's not usually the stubborn one."

"Don't worry about it. Maybe he's just upset because he has to spend the evening with us instead of his friends. It's going to get better after the all find something in common to talk about. They are teenagers after all," she laughed.


	4. Getting along

When the beautiful and tasty dinner got wrapped up by Kate and Abby cleaning the table, the company moved their seats from the kitchen to the living room. Adults were drinking a bit of white wine and reminiscing about the times they all worked on the same cases. The kids were hanging upstairs since then. Timmy, Jimmy and Abby headed to her room and considering their loud laughs that were scattered and bounced off the walls of the whole upstairs, they were getting along pretty well. Tony went to his room instantly, leaving his sister and older of the Shepard kid alone.

"I'm sorry for the way Tony acted towards you and Timmy," Kate approached Ziva in the hallway after no one spoke in the room for at least fifteen minutes, and she stepped outside to get some normal atmosphere in their lungs.

"Please, don't apologize for the way your brother acted, it's not your fault," said Ziva, leaning on the railing, looking down on the front door, half distracted by her buzzing mind.

Kate sat down on the stairs, replying, "No, but it's a forced habit at this point. He's usually not this vile, I don't know what got into him lately. He has such a good heart and…"

"Seems like you have great relationships with your siblings, when you want to make sure so hard I know they are good people" Ziva interrupted her suddenly.

"Yeah, they can be a handful and without mom, Tony can turn into a crazy-protective-dad-mode and Abby can be a baby who needs a lot of caring and attention at times, but nothing I can't handle. Or dad, he's the one usually taking care of things when they get too big for me to take care of. You don't have a good relationship with your brother?" Kate asked, looking up at Ziva, who was staring into nowhere.

"No! I love Timmy! He's a great mind for such a small body. We're just very… different. We come from different homes and it shows sometimes. Jenny, I will never be able to call mother even though she's doing such a great job at it. It's different, see… we're a great family, but the bonds within the family aren't so strong," she was having a hard time talking about her family and it showed a great difference between her and Kate's monologue. "Don't you get tired of taking care of them and well, a lot of other things yourself?" she asked back, changing the topic.

"Oh, I am sorry for that. But maybe it is going to change to better after you're here, in the States?" Kate tried her best not to make the situation awkward again. "And no, I think that's my role in this family. I think of it as an honor I guess. It gets hard at times, but I love them so, it's worth it."

"Yeah, Jenny hopes that will help, too. And I am expecting for things to cool down a bit after all the years traveling through Europe."

They both fell into a surprisingly comfortable silence for a while, before they were resurrected from their thoughts about each of their own families by a familiar, masculine voice.

"Hey, girls, what are you both doing here on the stairs?" asked Jethro as he was heading upstairs to grab an old photo album.

"Just talking daddy," answered Kate with a smile.

"Okay then, what is the rest of the gang doing?"

"Jimmy, Timmy, and Abby are talking about some sort of science magazine they all love in her room."

"Tony?"

"He's in the room. I don't know what he's doing," Kate shrugged her shoulders.

Jethro decided to first go grab the album, and then check on his oldest stubborn.

Ten minutes later, he found him sprawled on the ground, pillow underneath his head, staring at the ceiling of his room.

"What do you want?" Tony asked, irritated.

"Watch your tone, Anthony."

"Sorry. I'm not necessarily in the mood for a heart to heart talk right now," he murmured under his heavy sigh.

"What is up with you lately, son? You're rude to our guests, you hide in your room and you snoop around my room," Jethro pointed out, making Tony's eyes open as wide as they possibly ever could.

"I didn't go through your stuff," Tony said nonchalantly, like it wasn't a complete lie and he knew about it.

"Don't lie to me, Anthony. You left your bracelet on my table and all of my normally alphabetically ordered files and pictures were all over the place. I'd rather hear the truth and explanation why you did it," he ordered, sitting down on his bed.

"Don't you have guests downstairs? You should be with them," he said.

"Tony, we're having this conversation now because I said so. Care to explain yourself?"

"I was just looking for answers you were not willing to give us, that's all," he frowned.

"You never asked," he replied calmly.

"Okay, so I am asking now. Who's _that _woman? Why is she here, acting all nice and bubbly and she brings over her kids? What is her point?" he threw his arms on the ground and crossed them at the chest.

"She's my colleague. We've been working together a long time ago. Long-time ago before I met your mother. She came back after a long time being in Europe. And you, mister, need to learn how to respect people, especially women, more. How you treated both her and Ziva was disrespectful and gross and I was embarrassed by your actions," he addressed.

"I am disrespectful now? And how she flirts with you and all? She's not our mother!" he replied a lot louder, frustrated he looked his father deep in his eyes.

Jethro now understood where were his son's actions coming from. He still didn't like what he did, but at least, he understood.

"Tony, she's not here to try to be your mother. You only had one mother and that's it. She doesn't flirt with me. You don't have to have any fear of somebody stepping into your mother's shoes. You know that will never happen. But I think, as an adult, I can decide to invite over my long life friends who came back to the States after many years. Plus, I thought it would be a great idea for her kids to have some friends. Of course, that was before my son turned into somebody I have never seen and made them feel a lot more unwelcomed than before."

If anything, it made Tony rethink his actions. He sighed. He has been acting like a jerk, and he overreacted.

"Dad, look, I'm sorry. I made a mistake, OK? You know, everything has been quite stressful lately and I don't know what got into me," he apologized.

"You don't have to apologize to me, son, but the Shepards. And you should do it soon, as it gets late and you have to go to school tomorrow, they will be probably leaving soon," he advised.

"Okay I will do it, I'm not that terrible of a person, even though they probably think I am, am I right?"

"If you apologize, they definitely won't," his dad smiled, already leaving the room, returning downstairs.

"And Tony? You're grounded for two weeks for snooping in my room. And you'll give me your phone for the way you acted, are we clear?"

Tony did nothing. He just stood there, his mouth opened slightly, _*really* _regretting his choice of action for once.


	5. Friends, enemies and chaos

_A/N: Hi! I really struggled with this story, but I tried my best, so here is the very delayed next chapter. P.S. I'm not from the U.S. so sometimes I'm not sure whether something is real or only in movies. I hope everything makes sense though! Enjoy!_

It took a few weeks for things to get back to normal. Tony was not grounded anymore, and the whole chaos around the Shepard family kind of disappeared after the life got busy. Tony was never the most hard-working student, but his participation in after school activities always kept him busy. He played for the basketball team and with both Kate and Abby he helped at the local retirement community. Kate was trying to keep up the best grades she possibly could while maintaining her social life and Abby was all over the place, but somehow still, at least what seemed like, thriving. She was the one who talked to the Shepard kids the most, through Tim. She would wait for Jimmy to come home and they would visit together.

"DAD!" came a loud, shrieking scream from the bathroom.

"Yes, Kate?" at this point, he didn't even get into investigative mode to find out why his older daughter was screaming at the top of her lungs, because from his experience, it was probably something minor.

"Will you please explain to Abby that when she borrows my things, she should return them exactly where they came from?!" she continued screaming, while Abby probably didn't hear her due to music coming from her room.

He just sighed. Why did they have to shout at each other every morning?

"Girls, I'm leaving, this one is up to you to resolve. And wake up your brother!" and with that, he left for work.

An hour later they were all on their way to school. Tony hated taking the bus. He always dreamed of having his car by the time he would turn 16, but their dad was way too strict to let him drive alone, not to mention owning a car.

He noticed that Ziva was sitting alone at the front of the bus. Kate moved across the line a few minutes ago where she was talking to an old friend.

"Hi," he sat down next to her, trying to be friendly.

"You don't have to sit next to me just because your sister is talking to a friend," she replied.

"I know you are still annoyed with me because of the way I reacted to your mom. But I was really mad at my dad more than anyone," he said back, knowing he was not exactly who she wanted to talk to.

"That's not an excuse."

"I know, and I'm sorry, again. I shouldn't have said any of those things and I would honestly like to be a friend," he looked at her with a shy smile.

"Yes, you will be. Isn't it like a saying? Keep your friends close, but enemies closer?" she asked sarcastically before Kate returned and motioned Tony to go sit back next to his friends.

He was stunned by her. She was not only sharp, strong, and really pretty but also super annoyed with him. He sighed. He never meant to hurt her, but his petty actions on their first meeting defined him as a jerk and he couldn't blame her for not liking him.

When the bus stopped, they all hurried out, but he grabbed Kate by her arm to stop her.

"Do you need something Tony?" she asked her brother.

"Yeah. Do you know why Ziva hates me so much?"

"You know why she does. Because you acted like a five-year-old. And you didn't redeem yourself with the reputation you have around here," she replied to him.

He rubbed his face before he could say anything. He didn't want anyone to hate him. Sure a lot of people did, but he didn't like that she did. She was a family friend and he wanted her to be her friend.

"Is there anything I can do to make it better?" he asked his sister. Over the few weeks, the girls bonded over their talks about their families, school, and other girly stuff they both enjoyed.

"Why don't you talk to her properly, like an actual man?"

"I tried this morning on the bus, but it didn't work very well," he complained.

"No Tony, you can't just find her sitting alone on the bus and then go talk to her. She isn't like that. I know she doesn't like you, but I also know you are a great guy. Why don't you join us today after school? We will do our homework at home. You can show her who you are. And now we have to hurry because we will be late," Kate said.

**Meanwhile at Abby's school**

Abby was having a terrible day. She didn't like her outfit, her school was boring and she felt like she had no real friends at school. She liked her new friend group with Tim and Jim because she felt like they always had something to talk about. Except for the girl trouble. All the girls at her age were talking about boys and makeup and being beautiful, and she never felt comfortable talking about such things. That was the main reason why she was usually being left out.

It was lunch break and she was sitting alone in the cafeteria. She already ate her lunch and she had another half an hour before her last period so she decided to take a walk. She loved this park near her school, it had beautiful flowers and a lake with swans. She usually visited the park with her uncle Ducky, but she thought knew the way pretty well on her own at this point. Only after three missed turns and going way too far straight she realized she was not only anywhere near the park, she was also nowhere she has ever been before. Frantically she started to look around for a familiar building, or a face, or a car, but there was nothing. Truthfully, she didn't know for how long she was walking, but by the time on her watch, it must have been over half an hour.

It was at that point when across the town at Navy Yard her father Jethro Gibbs received a worrying phone call from her teacher.

_"Hello, Mr. Gibbs this is Helena Woodsen speaking, a teacher of your daughter Abigal Sciuto. Can you please come over to the school? Your daughter didn't come to the last period and other students report her leaving the building on her own and she's not picking up her phone."_


End file.
